Brothel token

This battered metal round object with a square hole in the middle fits in the palm of your hand, and looks really old and interesting. It was a birthday present from my daughter when I was researching the roles of women on the Ballarat goldfields.

On first glance this looks like any other token, with copper and verde gris showing clearly, and a rim around the outside. On closer examination four figures in different poses are discernable on one side, and some Chinese or Japanese writing on the other. I really don’t know what the writing says but would love to find out.

This is a brothel token.

Items such as these were used by Madams and owners of brothels so that prostitutes didn’t have to handle any money. This particular token has four illustrations on it, so it’s possible that even if a man couldn’t read or write, as often happened in the 1800s, he could point to a picture to indicate his preference. Apparently tokens like this were used in Western Australia and Darwin where this token came from, but to my knowledge, none have been found on the goldfields of Victoria.

It’s eerie when you hold it in your hand as you try to imagine how many other palms it has crossed.

10
Comments

Cath Styles - National Museum of Australia

Thanks for that link, Dot. Really interesting.
Jacqui, no, no idea and as you might know, we can't offer valuations. On our site we suggest checking online auction sites or contacting an antique dealer, auction house or an independent valuer. A list of valuers is available via http://arts.gov.au/tax_incentives/cgp

Jacqui

Ooooh! How fascinating! Now I'm curious to know what the coin would be worth. Any ideas, Cath?

Dot Wickham

Thanks so much for the information Cath. How fascinating! The mystery of this token is finally solved. The back is exactly the same as the "Sex Education" coin in the link so I suspect it is a marriage charm!
I have some other tokens which are more explicit in language, but have no "how to" images on the reverse. There's also a great story on ABC Rewind about a brothel token found in WA. http://www.abc.net.au/tv/rewind/txt/s1225648.htm

Cath Styles - National Museum of Australia

Ah, ok, so one of the curators came back with this link: http://primaltrek.com/marriage.html
Scroll down to "Meaning of 'Wind, Flowers, Snow, Moon' – the coin shown there looks identical to yours, no? And I guess the couples coupling on the reverse looks a bit like the coin shown next to the heading 'Sex education'?

Dot Wickham

Thanks for the information Cath, Yes, mine is definitely a brothel token. I'd love to show you the other side. It comprises figures, in sets of two, in various poses. There are a variety available from America too. They are fascinating objects, but probably not the sort of thing that's kept within one's family history "treasures"! I'd love to know more about them.

Cath Styles - National Museum of Australia

hi Dorothy,
l've asked the relevant curators here and none can answer your specific question; we don't have any brothel tokens in our collection and don't know about them, sorry.
Curious, though: your coin looks a lot like a Chinese coin (eg see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:China_coin1.JPG) – how do you know it's a brothel token? Is the answer in the mysterious *other side*?
It's definitely plausibe; there were various kinds of tokens used instead of coinage – see http://museumvictoria.com.au/discoverycentre/infosheets/australian-traders-tokens/
Regards,
Cath

Brandy

I can't believe these exist. How fascinating. Could we get some more information about how and where they were used? I'd also love to see the other side! And what a fantastic daughter you must have.

Jacqui

Fantastic article! I want to see the other side - can we get a pic please?

Dorothy Wickham

Hi Cath
I see you are from the National Museum of Australia. Do you know of any brothel tokens in existence from the goldfields of Victoria?

Cath Styles - National Museum of Australia

Wow, Dorothy, that is really interesting. I would love to see the other side :)